A/N: Phew hey guys. Sorry about such a long wait but now that I've finished College for the semester, I can focus on typing my stories. I've also put Knights of Kalos on hiatus so Not the Cure and A King's Desire could catch up. I always focus on one story and neglect the other two so if i get stuck on one, the other two suffer and that is not fair to you guys. So here you go for all your patience. Oh yeah before I forget thanks for the reviews. I'm open to any criticism anyone has to offer. And this is one of many fight scenes throughout this story. I'm not particularly good at writing fights yet. Its something I'm working on. So bear with me please but enjoy this long awaited chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own either Bleach or Naruto
Chapter 3: How To End The Day
Grimmjow loved fighting. It was one of the few things in life that got him up in the morning. If he could spar with any of the Espada, train with his fracción, search and destroy missions or even slaughter helpless lower class hollow, he was happy with it. As long as he could spill something's blood by the end of the day, it was a good days work and despite walking through Kami's door and being reincarnated, he still felt that need to kill something.
The Konoha shinobi went about their business as usual: inspecting merchant wagons that passed through, checking citizen passports before access to the Land of Fire, ensuring the mission reports of other shinobi were accurate and not forged and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Never in their boring lives were they expecting what happened. Border patrol was suppose to be a safe job with little action so they never ran serious drills just the ones to keep them in shape but a full out one man army assault. They weren't ready.
Grimmjow was annoyed with how easy the fort was to slaughter. It turned out that out of the twenty shinobi stationed there, almost more than half were Genin. Konoha must have become much more desperate to place new meat at such a place. Genin were prone to mistakes and were inexperienced when it came to battle and making important calls so they fell with ease. The few Chunin that were making the calls were capable to avoid being killed and made calls to the nearby surviving Genin to push the Espada back a few times but fruitless in the end.
Grimmjow's Hierro kept him safe from small weapons like their kunai and shuriken but the Chunin had heavier weapons like Fūma shuriken and they had the skill to use them more effectively than the Genin. Also a Chunin, that was killed earlier was skilled in Raiton techniques, managed to cut through his Hierro like butter and left a nasty wound on his hip bone. So Grimmjow was able to muster the knowledge that heavy weapons being used by Chunin and higher were a threat as well as the Raiton Release. If that was true, then his revenge against his former teammate and sensei would not be easy considering both are possibly Jonin together and masters of Raiton Release by now. He needed more power to defeat them and what he had at the time was not enough.
"Let's do a headcount," Grimmjow mocked. "Five decapitations, three impalements by my fist alone, four snapped necks and three slit throats. That's fifteen of the twenty I've counted but I see only four of you. Where's the last guy?"
Grimmjow spotted another young blood making a run for the exit. More than likely attempting to inform the Village of the attack and that was something that couldn't happen. Grimmjow made an attempt to stop the Genin but was cut off by the other four shinobi. They obviously wanted it to happen. So a battle for time and there could be only one victor. Konoha would win if the Genin got away and Grimmjow would win if there were no survivors.
Grimmjow leapt back with his hand of the hilt of Pantera for the first time since the battle started. He insulted the shinobi by killing them with their own weapons half of the time when they were in reach otherwise he would go in with hand-to-hand combat. He didn't want to be tempted with Resurrección anytime soon but he couldn't afford to go easy and it was an excuse to polish off his swordsmanship.
A Chunin leapt at Grimmjow with incredible speed in an attempt to overwhelm him by the speed alone but his swordsman skill was remarkable; he wasn't the Sexta Espada because he was handsome. With one flawless fluid motion, he cut the shinobi in two. The blood splattered the ground in a flawless half ring of crimson red as the body separated from the torso.
"He's a samurai and therefore has no type of jutsu at his disposal," a shinobi said behind the remaining two. "If we use more strategic techniques and keep our distance, we should be able to overwhelm him. Just keep your distance and we will avenge our fallen comrades."
Grimmjow smirked. He thought they were trying to be strategic in the first place. If they were using strategy now, they waited a bit too late. The Espada assumed that the one shinobi behind the other two was the one in charge so if he fell, then he'd have one less potential threat to worry about but for now he needed to take out these two before him. The Genin was getting further away and that wasn't good for the Espada.
One of the Chunin was slim with slick black hair tied up near the crown of his head. The other reminded Grimmjow of the odd boy that he wished to find. His face covered by a black masked and a dark pair of goggles but the white trench coat was a bit odd though. Either way both of them had to die that was just how it had to be. No one would be spared.
The slim one took off to Grimmjow's left but before he could react he was suddenly swarmed by what looked like small beetles. Grimmjow retreated to escape the infestation but all of a sudden he couldn't move. It was like he became paralyzed or something grabbed him and refused to let go. Making matters worse, the Espada sheathed Pantera against his will like something was controlling him. Despite being unable to move his body, he could move his eyes and out of his peripheral vision he spotted the slim male making motions with his arms and legs.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu complete," the slim man said. "Know that Shiki Nara assisted in your defeat."
"Don't forget about me," the odd cloaked man said. "I am Sin Aburame. Now that you are trapped, my insects with drain you of every last drop of chakra. Then your life will end."
The Aburame sent his beetles to cover Grimmjow and not a speck of skin was left exposed. It was a pile of beetles in one spot and the Espada had no way of fighting back or so he thought. Grimmjow felt no effect on his body and the beetles seemed to be struggling with the task handed to them but then it all became clear. He was a creature of Hueco Mundo and had little, if no, chakra flowing through his system but spiritual pressure being his source of power. Finally he put two and two together on how to escape his situation.
His reiatsu flooded the air around him and before he knew it the beetles fell to the dirt barely able to twitch their legs, the Nara's Shadow Possession technique was dispelled almost immediately and the Aburame fell just as quick as his insects. The fact that Grimmjow didn't think of that earlier made him curse his own name to himself. He was free to move and ironically it thanks to the fact he had nearly no chakra. The only person that was kind of unaffected was the one that ordered the Nara and Aburame to attack him.
Grimmjow needed to stop wasting time and get to business. He snapped the neck of the Nara and before the other was able to regain his composure, the Aburame was dispatched of with a merciful stab through the head. Even though he mentally agreed to show no mercy, those two were the only ones to have earned it by temporarily subduing him. Now it was just him and the final shinobi.
"And then there was one," Grimmjow taunted. "Now that you can't hide behind your men anymore, you gonna fight me?"
"Incompetent fools," the shinobi said. "I'm Mono Ichi, Jonin rank of Konoha, just surrender and you might just get life instead of execution."
Grimmjow simply taunted him even more by gesturing him to attack and the Jonin did take the offer. The Jonin took in a large breath of air and made a few hand signs too fast for Grimmjow to make out what signs they were. The Espada was preparing for a jutsu of the Katon Release but he was wrong to expect that.
"Fūton Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
Of all the element release types Grimmjow expected Fūton to be the last one he'd encounter here. Grimmjow quickly crossed his arm over his face and upper body and braced for impact. The wind pounded against his Hierro but it didn't seem to break under the force the Jutsu had on him. The jutsu knocked the wind over of him, which the Espada found ironic but Grimmjow was able to retaliate with a barrage of punches to his foe and to his surprise, Mono was able to keep up. Not only was Mono able to block each blow successfully but able to return hits in between blocks.
Honestly the Espada should not of been shocked by that truth. His opponent was a Jonin and that alone made him a large threat and in Grimmjow's current state, Mono was even more of a threat but as long as he had no access to heavy weapons or Raton Release he believed he was safe. The battle could not prolonged itself any further and studying his opponent was just something Grimmjow liked to do in order to get the win and psych out his opponent.
"Fūton Release: Vacuum Wave!"
Grimmjow stood his ground and braced for impact once more, preparing for himself to lose air and be pushed back a few feet but the wind released from this technique felt sharper and much more focused than the previous one. His Hierro failed as he felt his flesh cut around his shoulders and across his ribs and blood spray out of the injuries inflicted on him. Now the Espada added Fūton Release to the list of things that could harm him but it appeared that more focused Fūton jutsu were necessary to harm him. Luckily the injuries weren't too deep in his skin but over time he could just bleed out if there were enough cuts or if he ever came across a master. What made matters worse was that one of the wind blades reopened the wound delivered on his hip and started bleeding again.
"So that's how your Kekkei Genkai works."
"My Kekkei Genkai?"
"It keeps your skin hard and protects you from most forms of attack. You can't match it with force or blunt objects, you need something sharp to cut through it. That's why the Drilling Air Bullet jutsu failed while the Vacuum Wave succeeded. On top of Raton jutsu being able to nullify it completely."
"So he thinks it's a Kekkei Genkai. It'll be a good excuse but the fact that he analyzed it so quickly disturbs me a bit. Let's hurry up and kill him before that other one gets too far ahead."
Grimmjow readied Pantera for a fight and he had no intention of screwing around anymore. He was bleeding profusely from his hip but his shoulders and chest were more manageable. Nothing serious or life threatening but if not treated soon they could be.
Mono threw shuriken toward the Espada like he was practically giving them away. Grimmjow's Hierro did its job deflecting them but some managed to dig into his open wounds and open them up even more. Grimmjow went of the offensive by charging straight in with his blade out and ready for blood and he knew who's blood Pantera called for. Mono let loose another Vacuum Wave jutsu but Grimmjow was using Sonído but only using short bursts to travel short distances to avoid the slicing winds but the side effects of over using Sonído would eventually take its toll.
The Jonin kept lengthening the distance between him and the Espada every time Grimmjow managed to get close and then followed it up with that annoying jutsu. Grimmjow was starting to slow down from exhaustion and after using Sonído so many times his exhaustion was far worse but atleast the fight was making it slightly more bearable then when he used it previously. All he needed though was one good push or atleast manage to take of one of Mono's hands and it would be a cake walk but Grimmjow knew all the Jonin was doing was stalling for the runaway Genin.
Grimmjow grew tired of being played like a fool. How he desperately wanted to fire a Cero at the Jonin and reduce him to dust but he wasn't sure how it his body would handle it but a compromise and idea sparked in his mind. What would happen if he used something at only half the strength of a Cero.
With several punches he launched a barrage of Bala. The reiatsu formed around his fists with a burning sensation and the friction of the heat stung. Mono avoided the first Bala but the second Bala connected with the Jonin's jaw and after that the rest was history when the remaining let loose and forced Mono Ichi through the nearby wall. Grimmjow did not let up though as he continued to launch Bala at the fallen body before him. It was no longer about catching the runaway, it was about eviscerating an enemy that injured him. The only two people that managed to wound him majorly were Ichigo and Nnoitra and he wanted them both dead. This Jonin was no exception.
Bala smashed into the ground, blood splattered from the dirt, bone crunched under the force and resistance stopped entirely. There was little to nothing left of the Jonin but a smashed corpse and mush that was probably once internal organs. It was safe to say that the Espada had the last laugh in the battle of tug of war with the shinobi.
"No one will defeat me," Grimmjow started. "I will achieve greatness, give my soul what we desire and exact our revenge for I am- graah!"
Grimmjow's hand felt like someone ran a blade through it. The pain was almost impossible to tolerate and with a quick glance of his hands, the Espada quickly saw the problem. His hands were charred and burned raw from the constant Bala abuse and the adrenaline that kept him going finally wore off so the pain was now noticed.
He tried to open and close his hands but the pain was just not allowing him to do simple commands but he still had to catch that Genin. He tried to focus his Pesquisa to find his target and focus less on the pain of his hands. His prey didn't manage to get too far away but with the state Grimmjow was in, the Genin might actually be able to put up a tiring fight. The Espada was confident he could still kill him but it would be tiring nonetheless.
The Genin didn't seem like he was going to stop anytime though so Grimmjow started to run as fast as his body would allow. He remembered Ulquiorra and how he always brought up that he kept his regeneration abilities over more power. Grimmjow now understood the phrase 'green with envy' and honestly wished that he had a regenerative ability of some kind. When he was a hollow he could have had a soul or two and everything would be dandy but that was out of the question. The Espada wasn't even sure if he could consume souls like he use too in his previous life. So he would have to bear the burden of his current injuries and focus on catching up with his target before matters got worse for him.
His legs weren't tired or worn out as much as his upper body or hands but they had just as much trouble trying to keep him up. The effects of Sonído were finally kicking in and Grimmjow wasn't too happy about how early it kicked in but to be honest he would have wanted it to kick in never. Once he caught the brat, he would be able to rest his tired bones, treat his injuries and get going to his destination.
The child though just kept getting further and further away while Grimmjow's need for rest grew. He knew he could use Sonído to get him in view but then he would just collapse from exhaustion. He could try to combine Pesquisa and the Bala technique to snipe the shinobi but with how banged up his fists were, it would be impossible. The bloody stumps would hardly make fists so Bala was pointless at the time, if he couldn't close his fists, then using Pantera would be difficult, hand-to-hand would also be difficult but the Espada did still have access to kicks, elbows and knees so he wasn't out of fighting options entirely but he'd have to engage him to utilize it.
"I'm not gonna have everything ruined by some greenhorned brat!"
He remembered Luppi and how quickly he was replaced by him. Luppi tried to take away his title as king and this Genin would ruin everything he worked for too. His blood was boiling, he adrenaline kicking in and a second wind suddenly coming forth. He dug his feet into the ground and with a loud roar he let Sonído carry him to the Genin and lunged his arm through the center of his stomach just like Luppi. The Genin was shocked to say the least from Grimmjow suddenly appearing and then ripping through his gut like paper but Grimmjow's anger was at its peak because he didn't see the shinobi before him, no, he saw someone trying to take what is his.
"You…bastard," the Genin said before coughing up blood.
"Damn straight!" Grimmjow grinned. His other hand was encased in a black and red light but before the Genin could respond, Grimmjow let loose a Cero that blasted the shinobi at point blank and only the lower half of the body remained. "I am Jeagerjaques Grimmjow! The Sexta Espada!"
His laughter echoed throughout the woods but soon the adrenaline wore off and the toll on his body took its effect. His chest felt heavy and was hot from Sonído, his fists were bleeding from the Bala barrage and the Cero left his left hand burned black and the injury traveled up to the pit of his arm, his open wounds bleeding even more than before, legs giving out from his own weight and his sight blurring. He went overboard with the Genin but he did what he set out to do. He tested his limits, pushed past them, discovered his body's weaknesses and scaled his enemies.
Grimmjow collapsed and the hard ground didn't make his fall enjoyable but he would live. He'd have to survive for her and for himself. He would become greater than them all and his vengeance would be all that more sweeter.
"I won't…I won't fail now," Grimmjow mumbled. "I…I am…the…king."
His eyes closed and the darkness took him. He had no more energy to fight back his exhaustion and he wanted to sleep, for now that was all he needed to do. The Espada slept on the bloody soil next to the body he destroyed. Once he awoken, he would continue his training but with much stronger foes but Grimmjow was not alone. His Cero brought attention to himself whether he wanted it or not.
A shinobi dropped down from a tree nearby and examined Grimmjow's body. He placed two fingers on Grimmjow's neck and checked to see if he was still alive and sure enough he was. The shinobi pinched his collar with and spoke through a radio transmitter that was attached to the corner.
"Sir about the commotion we got on that Konoha border fort. I think I found the one responsible. It was just one guy."
"Bring him back to Iwagakure. I may have use for someone like that."
"Yes Tsuchikage-sama. Right away."
The shinobi lifted the body over his shoulder and took Grimmjow's body away. Whatever was planned for him was probably not what the Espada wanted but it seemed like he had no choice in the matter. Iwagakure had taken Grimmjow into their custody.
A/N: Futon Release, futon style, wind release, wind style it's all the same in my eyes. I do hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed typing it. I'll see you guys next time in the next installation of A King's Desire.
